Steve Goldstein (diplomat)

Irwin Steven Goldstein was born to Bernie and Sandra Goldstein of Nashville, Tennessee.[1][7] Goldstein graduated from the University School of Nashville. He attended and graduated from the University of Arizona, where he earned a bachelor's degree in political science and education.[7][8] After college, he worked as a schoolteacher.[9]

Goldstein served as senior vice president of BP Global Solutions.[10][8][7]

Goldstein was employed at Dow Jones/The Wall Street Journal, where he was Vice President of Corporate Communications.[7]

Goldstein worked at TIAA for seven years, serving as its Executive Vice president and Chief Communications Officer.[7][11] He stepped down from the position as of September 30, 2010.[12]

He is currently Chief Communications Officer at the Long-Term Stock Exchange (LTSE), an SEC-registered national securities exchange built to serve companies and investors who share a long-term vision.

Goldstein (right) signs a Memorandum of Understanding on cultural property protection with Libya in 2018

Goldstein spent eight years working as a press secretary and chief of staff for several members of Congress, including Manuel Lujan and Ronald Machtley.[7][9][13]

When President George H. W. Bush appointed Lujan the U.S. Secretary of Interior, Goldstein was hired to work as his spokesperson. Goldstein's official titles at the U.S. Department of the Interior were Assistant to the Secretary and Director of Public Affairs.[10][7][14]

President Donald Trump nominated Goldstein to Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, the State Department's public relations and public affairs chief. Moira Whelan, who served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Digital Strategy at the State Department during the Obama administration, said Goldstein would be a "key player in the effort to push back against Russian disinformation efforts around the world and in the United States."[15] Goldstein was unanimously confirmed by the Senate,[16] and he was sworn into the position on December 4, 2017.[7][17]

Shortly after President Trump dismissed Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on March 13, 2018, Goldstein released a statement that Tillerson did not know why he had been fired and that Tillerson had only learned of his firing that morning from Trump's tweet.[18][19] Goldstein's statement was seen as contradicting the official account of Tillerson's dismissal, and Goldstein was fired from his position.[18][19] According to Axios, Goldstein was disliked in the White House "and seen as openly anti-Trump."[20]